Hades is a rogue-like dungeon crawler in which you defy the god of death as you hack and slash your way out of the Underworld of Greek myth.

The player takes the role of Zagreus, the prince of the Underworld, who is trying to escape the realm to get away from his dispassionate father, Hades, and reach Mount Olympus. His quest is supported by the other Olympians, who grant him gifts to help fight through the beings that protect the exit from the Underworld.

The game is presented in an isometric view with the player in control of Zagreus. The player starts a run-through of the game by trying to fight their way through several rooms; the room layouts are pre-determined, but their order and the enemies that appear are randomly determined. The player has a primary weapon, a special attack, and a magic spell which they can use to take out enemies. Sometimes on clearing a room, one of the Olympians will provide a gift, a choice of three persistent boosts for that run that the player can select from; the gifts are themed based on the Olympian, for example with Zeus providing lightning damage effects. The player also collects in-game currency and potentially keys. Should Zagreus' health points drop to zero, he "dies" and ends back up facing his father, removing all gifts granted from the last run. In this area, before settling on a new quest, the player can use the currency to unlock permanent upgrades for Zagreus, or the keys to unlock different weapons.